n order to provide outstanding residents an avenue into the understanding of the funding opportunities of the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER) and the political and educational values of ASA, FAER developed the Resident Scholar Program approximately 20 years ago. Abbott Laboratories, also recognizing the importance of developing resident scholars, has provided generous funding for this program in the names of Ernest Volwiler, Ph.D., and Donalee Tabern, Ph.D., discoverers of Pentothal.

FAER annually requests approximately 60 training programs to honor residents by electing them to attend this program so that over two to three years, every department has an opportunity to send its residents to the ASA Annual Meeting. These resident scholars show great promise as future scientific, educational and political leaders in this specialty.

At the ASA Annual Meeting, resident scholars take part in a variety of events. During their initial informal reception, resident scholars exchange experiences with each other and hear brief comments from and personally meet representatives from Abbott Laboratories and the president-elect from the ASA Resident Component Governing Council. Formal proceedings begin Saturday morning when FAER orients the resident scholars to the content of the Annual Meeting while the ASA President, the chair of the FAER Board of Directors, the representative of Abbott Laboratories and, once again, the president-elect of the Resident Component offer their greetings and their comments about ASA and FAER. Resident scholars also have the opportunity to hear a previous FAER grant award winner discuss his/her academic career so that they discover the importance of the FAER grant process.

At the 2005 Annual Meeting, Terese T. Horlocker, M.D., and Lee A. Fleisher, M.D., were the invited speakers as guests of FAER. This year Robert A. Caplan, M.D., will provide the discussion for our resident scholars. In 2004, a portion of the resident scholars began attending the Friday meeting of the Society for Education in Anesthesia in addition to the FAER- and ASA-sponsored events.
The president-elect of the Resident Component is a very important person in the Resident Scholar Program. Benjamin D. Unger, M.D., offered his help to resident scholars in 2005. This year Paloma Toledo, M.D., will hold discussions with the resident scholars to help them better understand the many activities of ASA and the importance of being involved.

During the Annual Meeting, resident scholars attend multiple sessions related to the political activities of ASA, including the House of Delegates meeting and educational sessions that focus on scholarship such as the Celebration of Research, the FAER Honorary Research Lecture and the FAER Panel. In addition ASA opens all events at the meeting so that the resident scholars can gain firsthand experience in both the political and the scientific aspects of our lives as anesthesiologists.

A quote from a participant in the 2004 meeting, found in that year’s Annual Report, reveals typical comments about the Resident Scholar Program:

“This is an excellent program that provided me the opportunity to interact with other residents with similar interests and with established faculty, researchers and clinicians outside my department. It was exceptionally informative, and I found all participants to be extremely enthusiastic and helpful in our discussion. Thank you for the opportunity.”

Looking ahead, it will be important for FAER to follow our resident scholars, such as the one who made the comment above, and watch their careers develop as they use the opportunity for FAER grants to begin remarkable academic careers. Undoubtedly some of the participants in the Resident Scholar Program will become future leaders in our specialty and ASA. These residents will have had an outstanding start by taking part in the Resident Scholar Program.

James R. Zaidan, M.D., M.B.A., is Professor and Chair, Department of Anesthesiology, Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.